QBengaluru: Siddaramaiah, Deve Gowda Spar; 2 Die in Stadium Mishap

The quarrel between JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda and former chief minister Siddaramaiah over the collapse of the HD Kumaraswamy government escalated on Friday with the Congress Legislature Party leader hitting back at his one-time mentor.

Gowda had said Siddaramaiah, with help of his MLA supporters, had toppled the government because he wanted to be leader of the opposition and to see BJP’s BS Yediyurappa as chief minister.

Siddaramaiah on Friday countered, saying, “Have you heard of anyone on earth toppling a government to become an opposition leader? It’s a silly allegation.”

Two people were killed and 10 others sustained injuries after the portico of Siraguppa taluk stadium, where they were watching a sports event, caved in on Friday afternoon. The deceased are Ramu (19), a student, and Shivakumar (32), an employee of a solar company. “The building was constructed in 1997 and could not take much load,” said a senior police officer.

Shivakumar died on the spot, while Ramu succumbed to injuries while being shifted to the hospital. A complaint has been registered and an investigation is on. The Deputy Commissioner of Ballari told Express that he has sought a technical report from the Public Works Department regarding the building. “We have sought details on the status of the building, whether it can be used again,” he said. The SP was not available for comment.

The final autopsy report on the death of Cafe Coffee Day founder V.G. Siddhartha will be available to the police shortly, said Commissioner P.S. Harsha here on Friday.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Harsha said the report of the Forensic Science Laboratory analysing the viscera samples collected from Siddhartha’s body was received by the investigation officer here on Thursday. “We are handing over this report to the doctors who did the autopsy. We hope to get their final opinion shortly. Based on their final report, further investigation will be carried out,” he said.

With Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa struggling to allot portfolios and disgruntlement among party MLAs on the rise after the Cabinet expansion, the BJP top brass on Friday warned the CM of dissolution of the Assembly if he did not settle the issues immediately.

“The central leadership has made it clear to Yediyurappa that he should contain all dissident activities immediately and sort out the issues of allocation of portfolios. If the problems persist for long, it is better to dissolve the Assembly and go in for polls,” a senior party leader told DH.

The mysterious murder of a woman, whose body was found with 22 stab wounds and head smashed near Kempegowda International Airport on July 31, has been cracked with police arresting a cab driver.HM Nagesh, 22, reportedly murdered the woman in a robbery bid gone awry.

The victim was identified as Pooja Singh Dey, 30, a model and event manager from New Town area of Kolkata. She is married to a BPO entrepreneur based there.

Nagesh, who drives cabs for two app-based aggregators, resides in Sanjeevini Nagar, near Hegganahalli Cross in north Bengaluru. He allegedly killed Pooja, who had boarded his vehicle to catch a morning flight to Delhi, after he tried to rob her, police said. Nagesh thought Pooja was carrying a huge amount of money, but found only Rs 500 in her bag.